1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for tracking an object in a sequence of video frames. The invention further relates to an apparatus arrangement for performing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Video tracking methods typically are utilized for tracking the movement of objects recorded in images, in order to supply the obtained data to an evaluation. Objects generally can be persons, articles or the like. In the field of sports, for instance, the movements of players or athletes can be detected digitally by means of video tracking and be evaluated for statistical purposes.
From US 2003/0179294 A1, a video tracking method is known, in which a multitude of cameras is used. The recognition of objects always is based on a background subtraction, for which purpose a dual median filter is used, and on a subsequent blob analysis. However, because of the complex filtering and the multitude of logical operations due to the complete examination of each frame, the known method is so ineffective that it is not suitable for real-time processing.
A further video tracking method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,297 A on the example of the tracking of players during a football (soccer) match. This method is also based on the principle of background subtraction. The used algorithms only allow error-free tracking as long as the player to be tracked is freely visible. Otherwise, if there is any uncertainty, an immediate intervention of a match observer is absolutely necessary.